The Last Year
by Ken Giovanni
Summary: After being diagnosed with a terminal illness, Weiss struggles with the little time she has left. Join her as she tends to the loose ends of her disfunctional family life and confronts her inner demons.
1. Chapter 1

_The last Year...Day 1_

Weiss sat in weathered leather arm, cigarette balanced delicately between her fore and middle finger, and a celery tonic and gin that was quite nearly finished stood beside an ashtray on a half yew half ebony desk. In one of only two corners not occupied by shelves of books and vinyl records sat a very old but very much functional gramophone which at the moment was playing the musical stylings of Billie Holiday. Weiss slowly dragged her fingers across the worn leather on the arm of the chair, remembering how she would sit on her grandfather's lap as he would have his morning brandy and coffee. Remembering one time where she was particularly excited and knocked over his grandfather's mug and spilled its contents on the Turkish rug underneath. A very young weiss started to tear up, fearing a scolding from the old man.

 _What's wrong my dear? You know a rug can be replaced and so can a mug, but one thing that I can never replace, as hard as I might try, is my granddaughter whom I love dearly._

Weiss was jerked out of reverie by three deliberate knocks on the study door.

"You may enter," Weiss said loudly. The door opened to reveal a tall figure entering the room.

"Good evening Lady Schnee. I felt it was an appropriate time to check up on you." Said a rather old man dressed in butler's attire, his head topped with a bounty of silver hair combed neatly to one side.

"Ah, Sterling...it's only you. I'm sorry to send you off again, but do you mind getting me another celery tonic?" Weiss said, rubbing her temples.

"At once Lady Schnee," Sterling said with a smile.

"Just Weiss...Sterling...it's just Weiss, it has been for the past 24 years," Weiss smiled with a slight furrow in her brow.

"But your-"

"Mother and Father are not currently on the grounds and as far as I know, hell, I believe they have excommunicated me, I am an adult who knows what I want and I would want for you to address me by my first name _only_ ," Weiss leaned on the desk and placed her hands together, enjoying an age old argument between her and Mr. Sterling.

"At once then, _Weiss_." Sterling said with a bow before turning his heels and heading to the main bar.

"Don't go easy on the gin, either!" Weiss called after him.

Weiss pressed the tip of her cigarette into the ashtray and pulled another long, slender, stick from the pack. She took a match from a box and struck it on the strip on the side of the box. She lit her cigarette and took a long, slow drag, exhaling slowly afterwards.

Sterling returned in less than 5 minutes holding a tall glass sat on top of a tray.

"It's not my place to ask, Lady Schn- Weiss, but I thought you had quit?" Sterling said, after giving Weiss her beverage.

"Take a seat, old friend. I have a story to tell," Weiss heaved a great sigh.

Sterling gave a nod.

"First off, how's the family?" Weiss asked, taking a sip of her very stiff drink.

"My Son has died...Fighting for King and Country 6 years ago and my daughter is now happily married to a wonderful young woman. A school teacher I believe. They plan on having a child soon," Sterling said with a smile, "But nothing much has changed."

Weiss stood up and walked to the globe sitting in the other corner of the room, "Then your poison is still neat scotch?"

"Why yes, and for reference sausage pie is still my favorite dish," Sterling gave a wide smile as he accepted the drink from Weiss.

"My condolences, I enjoyed my...exile of sorts but what I did not enjoy was the lack of company I had, and you, dear old friend, are good company," Weiss took another sip.

"Didn't make too many friends while you were at school?" Sterling sipped on his drink.

"I didn't make too many friends _anywhere_ ," Weiss answered with a smile.

"So did you return just to revel in your grandfather's study or is there a purpose to this unexpected visit?" Sterling smiled at Weiss, feeling varying amounts of happiness in seeing the little he practically raised grow up to be such a fine young woman.

"I have 1 year left on this Earth, old friend, and you can say that I'm _making the rounds_. This is the first stop obviously," Weiss said, smile fading and eyes dropping to her feet.

It took a while to register but when it did Sterling suppressed the urge to cry, hands shaking uncontrollably as he did so.

Weiss continued, "To be frank, I don't quite understand the technicality of it all but I have some freak medical condition where the organs start failing at a slow yet steady pace. Soon I won't be able walk, I will grow weak, I will lose the ability to stay conscious for long periods of time. In short, very accelerated aging,"

Sterling remained silent.

"Sterling, my old friend, I'm afraid my time has come, a little too soon mind you, but it has come. I have all my financial and business affairs settled and I entrust you with my last will and testament," Weiss handed him 2 envelopes, "Those are yours to look after, I may make amendments to them in the near future,"

"Will you be returning...before...before your passing?" Sterling said, tears now visibly streaming down his cheek.

"I intend to, my friend! But for now I will not stay long, I need you to get me a tow truck tomorrow. I'm having a bit of a mid-life crisis and have a burning desire to resurrect grandfather's cabriolet," Weiss said with a smile, standing up to hug the man who was more of a father to her than her actual father.

"You've grown to be an outstanding young woman, my dear. The world will be sad to let you go so soon," Sterling said, on the verge of sobbing.

"I'll miss you dearly, old friend," Weiss sniffled and buried her face in his coat.

They separated, slowly recovering from the flood of emotions that had just passed, "I'll prepare the car, I believe it is in need of petrol and oil but should still be in working order," Sterling wiped his eyes, "You best rest now, my lady,' early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise',"

"I'm 2 for 3 Mr. Silver. Goodnight, Sterling" Weiss gave the old man a smile before sitting back down on the armchair.

"Goodnight, Weiss" Sterling bowed himself out exited the study.

With that, Weiss finished her drink and threw away her unfinished cigarette which has long since extinguished itself ,then walked to the gramophone in the corner and lifted the needle. She exited the study and traversed the mansion's ground floor to the staircase which she climbed until she reached the 3rd floor. She walked to the Eastern hall and entered the 4th door on the right. She entered her old room and expected to inhale inches of dust but was surprised to find that her room had been kept clean throughout her 8 year absence. _Probably Sterling's doing._ Weiss smiled and closed the door behind her. She stripped herself of her clothes and undergarments and entered the bathroom to take a shower.

Meanwhile, Sterling rushed to the phone located in the kitchen. He dialed a number, long since forgotten by the current residents of Schnee Manor.

"Hello?" An aged voice replied on the other line.

"Rusty, my good friend, how have you been?" Sterling replied amicably.

"By the gods...if it isn't Sterling Silver! Its been quite a long time, hasn't it!?" Rusty replied, coughing due to the strain on his voice. In background you can hear the faint voice of a young man say: _Try not to talk too loud, dad. You might hack out a bloody lung!_

"Alroy my boy! It's your Uncle Sterling!" Rusty shouted away from the phone.

"I need to call in a favor, you owe me for Monaco and let's not forget that one time during Le Mans!" Sterling whispered into the receiver.

"Indeed I do! Now how can an old jack like me be of service to the honorable Clan of Schnee?"

"Do you remember Adwin's cabriolet? The Guard's Red with the white racing stripes?" Sterling asked, still in hushed tones.

"How can I not?! That, my friend, was the belle of the boulevard! Mind you it was my shop that furnished Adwin Schnee's famous track rat!"

"I need it running like a track car by tomorrow morning,"

Rusty choked on his breath and sputtered,"Have you any bloody idea what hour it is?! It's a rather ungodly hour especially to tune and test a track car!"

"Monaco and Le Mans," Sterling replied teasingly.

"After this, I'm done! You hear?!" Rusty heaved a deep sigh.

"Thank you, my good friend,"

"I'll send my son with a tow truck," Rusty said, placing a cigarette in between his lips, "Alroy! Englewood! Take the truck and pick up the cabriolet from Schnee Manor!" Rusty yelled across the room.

With that, Sterling hung up the receiver with a small smile and proceeded to the garage.

About 45 minutes later a bright red tow truck pulled into the main courtyard, inside 2 young men, one with flaming red hair and a wry grin another with brown hair and a soft smile.

"Uncle Sterling!" The boy with red hair pulled Sterling into a tight hug.

"Hello my dear boy, how's your father holding up?" Sterling patted the boy on the head.

"He's not as strong as he use to be and smoking like a chimney doesn't do him any favors but he still has enough energy to whine about Monaco and Le Mans,"

"Sometimes I wonder, if he had the choice, would he have traded his life for some lousy podium?" Sterling chuckled, afterwards, turning to the boy with brown hair, "I don't believe we've met before, young man," Sterling Extended his hand towards the boy.

"He's one of Uncle Roy's boys, the one that joined the army," Alroy explained.

" _Sorry Sir. 105mm cannons can get very loud,"_ The boy said in sign language.

" _Not to worry dear boy, I'm not as fluent as I use to be but I can manage! Please to meet you and thank you for serving King and Country,"_ Sterling signed back.

" _Richard, Sir,"_ Richard signed with a small smile.

"Very well! How about a brandy before you gentlemen get to towing the car?" Sterling aid, signing as he spoke for Richard.

"I could murder one, Uncle Sterling!"

With no visible objections from Richard, they proceeded to the courtyard dining area where Sterling told them take a seat at the table. Sterling walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of brandy, cheese, bread, plates and a fresh ashtray. After setting the items on a tray he walked out to the dining area and placed the contents of the tray on the table.

"After you," Sterling motioned towards the food and drink.

Weiss, now dry and decent, sat on her bed rubbing at her temples in stress. A smooth passing is a myth, unfortunately. Weiss did not only hold a crucial, high ranking position in the Schnee Dust Company but owned a multitude of assets: financial, intellectual, and pieces of real estate scattered across the nation. Unfortunately for the now terminally ill Weiss Schnee, these assets grow in number every single day, which means the amount of items which she must appropriate grows longer and longer.

Weiss sat up and walked towards her closet. She slipped into a pair of faded jeans and put on a grey sweatshirt that was far too large for her petite frame.

She exited her room and made her way down the stairs towards the courtyard where she would stroll about in the brightly lit paved driveway or maybe even lay on the grass if she so pleased. She looked forward to the isolation the stroll would bring, the quiet solace of the night where the wind sang a barely audible melody, joined in harmony by the various creatures of the night. Alas, not all dreams were meant to come true as she heard loud laughter and conversation emanating from the courtyard dining area. She approached the group of men with a slightly sour look upon her face.

"Gentlemen," Weiss interjected, causing the men's conversation to come to an abrupt halt.

"Oh dear, boys. I believe we've just been busted!" Sterling let out jovial laugh. Richard and Alroy only gave a small smile, slightly intimidated by Weiss' presence, "Well take a seat! There are no strangers among friends, after all! That would just be illogical!"

Weiss took a seat and a cigarette was offered to her by Richard. She gave a slight nod and a small smile in return. Richard leaned forward and offered her a light which Weiss graciously took.

"What brings you out tonight and into our company, Lady Schnee?" Sterling asked Weiss, signing all the while so Richard can follow the conversation.

"I wanted to enjoy a nice silent stroll in the courtyard but that, _obviously,_ was not meant to be," Weiss flicked the ashes of her cigarette right into the ashtray after signing what she had just said.

"Well lads, she won't bite! Introduce yourselves!" Sterling said, trying to incite conversation.

"Alroy Eldridge," Alroy held out his hand which was firmly taken by Weiss.

"Pleasure," Weiss replied.

 _"Leftenant Richard Englewood, Retired,"_ Richard signed for Weiss, his mouth widening into a grin.

"My, an army man? Pray tell, soldier, which unit did you serve with?" Weiss poured herself a generous amount of brandy into an empty glass.

" _The 622nd Mortar Infantry Division,"_

 _"Ahh, thank you for your service and sacrifice," Weiss signed, giving Richard a smile and a solemn nod._

The evening continued for a good while. From stories of the battlefield to stories about high octane professional racing to the escapades of the old guard that consisted of Adwin Schnee and his dearest friends Sterling Silver, Richard Englewood Senior, and Rutherford "Rusty" Eldridge. The drinks kept flowing and the food was plentiful. By the time they'd realize how much time had past they were all too drunk, too full, and too happy to care.

"Alright boys, I think I'd better call your father. He's probably wondering where you all went," Sterling managed to slur out.

"Oh shit...we were suppose to tow the car and bring it right back so we could work on it..." Richard and Alroy burst out into fits of laughter followed shortly by Weiss.

"I doubt you'll be coming right back. Especially not in your current state," Chuckled Sterling as he walked to the phone in the kitchen.

"Whatever do you mean, Uncle Sterling?" Alroy asked, snickering all the while.

"You, my boy, are quite pissed!" Sterling called back before closing the door behind him.

His words were met with an outburst of laughter from the kids at the table.

"You gentlemen are obviously in no condition to drive back, especially down the mountain pass. I'll ask Sterling to prepare the guest rooms for you," Weiss managed to slur out.

"S'alright, Miss Schnee. Rickie and I can sleep in the tow tru-"

"Nonsense! So long as you reside on this property your are my guest. I will not have you sleep in a tow truck when there are dozens of perfectly fine rooms in the house," Weiss said after downing the last of her 5th or 11th glass, "And dammit, it's Weiss. Not Miss Schnee. Not lady Schnee. Not Mistress Schnee. W E I double-fucking-S, Weiss!"

"I...well...than-"

"Alright boys, your father is pissed but he seemed alright after I talked him down a bit," Sterling came back and sat back down.

"Sterling can you prepare 2 guest rooms, please? Before these oafs insist on sleeping in the tow truck again," Weiss said, getting up from the table.

"Certainly Miss Sch- I mean...Certainly...Weiss," Sterling caught himself, trying hard not to smile too wide.

"Thank you. I need to get to bed, goodnight gentlemen," Weiss strolled off back into the house.

"Shall I have antacid and pear juice waiting in the morning?" Sterling called out to Weiss.

"Ha! Don't be ridiculous, Sterling! I'm not a lightweight anymore!" Weiss yelled back before opening the door to the East wing.

"Alright boys, 10 quid and a pint says she'll have a killer hangover tomorrow," Sterling whispered as Weiss was entering the doorway.

 _Day 2…_

Years of expirience and good genes allowed Sterling almost superhuman ability to repel hangovers after ingesting ungodly amounts of alcohol. Unfortunately for Weiss she had neither the gene's nor experience, not to mentions she was terribly petite for her age. She slumped down the stairs and managed to drag herself to the kitchen, where on the counter sat a glass of pear juice and antacid.

"Will I be cleaning your personal bathroom after breakfast, Lady Schnee?" Sterling asked, not looking away from the pan in which he was rolling a French omelette.

"No thank you, Sterling. I managed to keep everything inside the toilet, this time," Weiss took a seat at the counter and tried to rub the sleep from her eyes to no avail.

"Very well! It's French omelettes and Canadian bacon today, the pear juice is in the icebox and the cabriolet has been inspected, tagged, and issued a liscence plate,"

"What time is it!?" Weiss managed to splutter out her words.

"4pm, Lady Schnee,"


	2. Chapter 2

_Day 2 Continued..._

Oh how good it felt, the roar of a twin sequential turbo flat six. The engine growled fiercely, while the turbos would continuously whine as they spooled, and finally the wastegate would hiss obnoxiously whenever Weiss needed to shift gears. She felt truly alive. Dancing with death at speed in excess of 100mph, cornering like a madman. It was a wonder how Sterling got this vulgar display of a machine street legal. Just for the fun of it she activated her turning indicator as she flung the car backwards into the next corner. Weiss shifted up from 3rd gear then worked her way up to 5th finally teasing the car's rev limiter at 8700rpm going 173 mph. She stepped on the breaks and started to downshift, coming to a dead halt right at the pitstop of the test track.

"How does she run?" Alroy asked with a wide grin on his face.

"Ahah! Where does she find the grip!?" Weiss asked as she removed her racing helmet.

"That would be the whale tail stuck to the boot!"

" _And don't forget the racing slicks. Unfortunately those aren't street legal,"_ Richard signed to Weiss.

"Well, Leftenant Englewood, I doubt I'll be taking left turns at 70mph," Weiss said with a smile which Richard returned.

"So, all we need to do, Miss Schnee, is swap the slicks for regular road tires and that should be it," Said a red headed old man smoking a cigarette.

"Uncle Rusty!" Weiss ran over and gave the older gentleman a bone cracking hug.

"Nice to see you too, little lady," Rusty gave Weiss a pat on the head, "My God! How You've grown! How old are you now?!"

"24, Uncle Rusty. Thank you for fixing her up, I bet grandad would cry at the sight of her now," Weiss gave gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"That he would, my dear, that her would…" Rusty wiped a tear away from his eye, "So, what's this I hear from Sterling about not staying?"

"Umm...well...I'm just going for a little road trip is all, just some alone time…" Weiss trailed off.

"Where are you going?" Alroy asked.

"I...I really don't know. I figure I'd just drive around a bit until I find somewhere to stop,"

"Well my dear, wherever you're going, make sure to stop by and say goodbye before you leave to go back to the city," Rusty smiled as he took another drag from his cigarette.

"Will do Uncle Rusty!"

"Good lass! Now boys, swap out Lady Schnee's tires and see her out. I need give that wanker back his bloody M3 before he throws a hissy fit," Rusty disappeared back into the shop followed by Richard and sure enough a young man standing by a BMW E36 M3 stood waiting with a non-too-pleased look on his face.

"So, how's about we go for one lap before you leave, Weiss?" Alroy asked.

"You're on!"

"Alright, just let me get my car!"

A few moments later Weiss was parked at the starting line as Alroy pulled up next to her.

"Ready to get your ads handed to you?" Alroy smirked as he revved his engine.

"I hope that thing isn't, stock," Weiss shot back with a defiant laugh.

"This isn't like all the other Fairlady Z's," Alroy affectionately patted the steering wheel, "Tuned and tested by yours truly,"

"So, how are we going to do this?" Weiss asked.

"Rolling start at 35 mph, I can chase if you'd like,"

"I guess I'll take that as chivalry and not as blind confidence," Weiss launched her car forward, spinning the back tires as she did so.

Alroy cursed and strapped his racing helmet on as quickly as he could. He floored the throttle and sped after Weiss who was now rounding the first corner of the test track.

After the final corner of their 7th lap, both cars came to a halt back at the starting line.

"Okay, so definitely not stock!" Weiss pulled off her helmet and shook her hair loose, "Humor me, Alroy. What do you have done to it?"

"Well It's not a dedicated track car actually. It's just my daily. So coilovers, anti-sway bars, bigger brakes, stage 2 clutch, twin sequential turbos, full engine rebuild, and... _lots_ of life support mods! I mean, my damned radiator takes up a fifth of the engine bay!"

"I'm impressed!" Weiss got out of her car and removed her gloves.

"Nah, 's nothing! You should see grandad's car. I swear, her can outrun the entirety of the dubai police department!"

"Aren't you kids done yet!?" Rusty yelled from the sidelines, "It's already 9! I should've been in bed 2 hours ago!"

"Sorry Uncle Rusty! I'll be out of your hair in a moment!" Weiss turned to Alroy, "Thanks, for everything. So I guess I ought to be going now?"

"Let Rickie and I swap out your tires, before you leave. I don't want you getting pulled and the car to get impounded,"

Weiss arrived back at the mansion just in time for dinner.

"Ahh, Weiss, how was your evening?" Sterling said, keeping his attention on the multiple pots and pans on the burner.

"The best I've had in years! Now, old friend, what do you have on the stove? It smells delightful!" Weiss took a seat at the counter where a table setting and a glass of pear juice sat waiting for her.

"Well, you have 3 slices of a baguette. All of which have been toasted with butter. On the first you have lox, creme fraiche, capers, red onions, and dill. The second gets a little heavier, it's braised pork belly with a garlic aioli spread on the toast. Lastly you have sliced pears with mascarpone and lavender honey," Sterling set the plate in front of Weiss, "You know, something light before you go to bed,"

"What can I say Sterling? You've outdone yourself," Weiss said after she took her first bite.

Sterling nodded and gave a smile, "Your weekender has been packed, toiletries included, your lunch has been prepared, which I put in the ice chest, there's extra oil and coolant in the garage, and also this," Sterling handed Weiss a small envelope.

"What's this?"

"Well Miss, I guess you'd have to open it to find out,"

Weiss opened the unsealed envelope, trying very hard to conceal the wide smile that was now forming on her face.

"Well, my dear, how do you like it?" Sterling asked.

"How did you get these?" Weiss said in a near whisper, still not quite believing that the tickets in front of her were indeed real.

"Well I know a friend who knows a friend," Sterling smiled and resumed cleaning the kitchen.

"This is his final concert, these tickets were sold out a year ago…"

"Well he's your favorite violinist, I thought I might exert some real effort-" Weiss cut his sentence off with a tight hug from behind.

"Th-thank you, Sterling…" Weiss managed to choke out between her sobs.

Sterling placed his hand on Weiss' overlapping fingers and gave them an affectionate squeeze, "For you my dear, anything…"

Weiss could only respond by hugging him tighter.

Sterling gave a small laugh and wiped a tear off a tear of his own, "Well Miss Schnee I must request that you release me. I wouldn't want any of this food to harden on your grandmother's cookware. It'd be a nightmare try to get them off,"

Weiss nodded, still pressing herself against Sterling's back.

"C'mon, love. Why don't you go upstairs and take a bath. I'll bring you your chamomille up to your room when I'm done here," Sterling said, finally returning Weiss' embrace.

"O-okay," Weiss wiped her eyes and nodded.

"Good girl, I'll be there in 20 minutes," Sterling smiled and returned to cleaning the kitchen.

"Goddamn you Avi...how dare you leave me to deal with all this by myself...," Sterling whispered to himself, trying to regain his composure as fresh tears fell into the stainless steel counter top.

Meanwhile, Weiss entered her personal bathroom and took a seat on top of the counter. She Pulled a cigarette and lighter from her pocket and proceeded to smoke it. She flicked the ashes into the sink and blew the smoke straight into the vents directly above her.

"One good thing about being terminally ill..." Weiss said to no one in particular before flicking the butt into the toilet and flushing it.


	3. Chapter 3

_Day 5..._

The hall was by no means large but what it lacked in size it made of for in atmosphere. It had a certain panache, a certain je ne sais quoi, it reeked of old money but was that really a bad thing? It was grand, the seats were red velvet, so were the carpets, the upholstery was secured by brass rivets with a beautiful patina, and to top the proverbial cake, a glorious 10 foot wide by 15 feet tall chandelier hung from the ceiling.

Weiss stood there, front and center flanked by an orchestra and nearly 100 pairs of eyes focused on her.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen," Weiss spoke out to the crowd of music students.

"GOOD MORNING!" They replied enthusiastically.

"So how many of you in the crowd are violinists?" Weiss asked.

A good third raised their hands.

"Wonderful! Now though I'm doing this presentation on a violin concerto what the main theme I want to get at is musicality and expression,"

Weiss played the theme from Paganini's 24th caprice.

"How'd that sound?" Weiss asked the crowd, still not quite use to performing again.

They erupted into applause, so much so that Weiss had to quiet them down.

"Really I'm flattered guys, in fact I'm not quite sure if you can see but I'm still a little red!," Wess couldn't stop herself from smiling, "But I thought that kinda sounded like shit,"

The crowd let out a collective laugh.

"My intonation was good, my rhythm was, at least I'd like to believe, on point, and all my notes were correct. What am I missing?" She asked the crowd, "Ah yes, you my dear, in the first row,"

"Dynamics," The timid girl answered back.

"Yes, very good! Now what else? Yes, you in the back,"

"Musicality?" A young man said, not quite sure of his answer.

"Absolutely!" Weiss replied, "Musicality,"

"Now what do I mean by musicality?" Weiss asked and not a soul raised their hands.

"I know it's kinda hard to define but let me put it another way. Musicality is our artistic license. It's the initiative to pour our souls into the music and do so without completely butchering the work of the composer. In the tchaikovsky I'll be playing tonight I enter with this," The orchestra played a few measures then came in Weiss' entrance.

"So notice that I pick up right after the strings and horns, I continue their musical thought, so to mirror that I don't want a straight tone I wanted heavy vibrato throughout my arpeggio and a nice soft piano as to not create dissonance in the dynamics. I want to ham these arpeggios up not because It would have been what I wanted but it's what Tchaikovsky would have wanted. He's a very romantic composer, he wore his heart on his sleeve, a luxury many of us may not be able to afford. When he was angry he wasn't just angry, he experienced unbridled rage. When he was sad he wasn't just sad, he was morose, and when he got sentimental he wrote this concerto. It's a very sentimental piece. The theme harkens back to summer nights with your sweetheart, to the saturday mornings where you'd watch cartoons, to the warm embrace of your loved ones,"

Weiss gushed on for the next 2 hours, pouring her heart and soul into her work. Trying and succeeding to implant the same passion into these musicians. It truly was a sentimental piece.

 _3 Years Ago…_

" _I'm sorry Blake…" Weiss faced woman with flowing black hair and striking light brown eyes._

" _Sorry for what?" She asked tentatively, looking quite confused._

" _I can't do this anymore…" Weiss spoke, barely audible and unable to meet her girlfriend's eyes._

" _What...what do you mean,"_

" _Us...we can't be together anymore...I'm sorry," Weiss finally looked up, tears starting to roll down her cheeks._

" _I don't understand...I thought you were happy, I thought we were happy…" Blake replied, eyes starting beginning to water._

" _After tonight I take my flight back home, I can't take you with me. Father would never accept us, he'd force us apart. Pry us from each other's grasp if it came to it. I love you so much, but I need to let you go, for both our sakes," Weiss said, still crying as she took Blake's hand._

" _Runaway with me, please Weiss...we can leave it all behind. Make a new life for ourselves, please Weiss…" Blake replied, kissing the back of Weiss' hand._

" _I...I can't...not yet at least…" Weiss withdrew her hand from Blake's grasp._

" _You hate the family business, your home never felt like home, why go back?"_

" _Because I hate the family business, because while it's still under my father's control nothing will change...I need to fix this Blake, I need to do it...I'm sorry," Weiss stood and retrieved her Violin from its open case, I need to do my soundcheck...I love you very much Blake Belladonna, please don't forget,"_

 _With every stroke of her bow Weiss exuded raw emotion. Sadness and regret felt in every not while maintaining a faint tone of hopefulness. Her playing dripped with sentimentality while you watched people watched her heart break on stage. The rather grotesque part was the crowd enjoyed it, relished it, absorbed it like water starved sponges. What a way to end a relationship one's life. To a piece of beautiful music and raucous applause._

The crowd applauded Weiss after the conclusion of the first movement of the piece. With that her lectured was completed and now only the concert tonight was left on her itinerary.

She walked backstage to put away her instrument, carefully placing her violin back in it's case.

"I have to admit, you still got it Weiss,"

Weiss turned around and to her shock, dismay, and utter joy stood Blake. Still the same if not even more beautiful with age.

"Blake...oh...my...God…" Weiss leapt from her position and embraced the woman in front of her who surprisingly hugged her back.

"I've missed you so much…" Blake whispered in her ear.

"And I you," Weiss replied, stepping away from the embrace, "You look very good Miss Belladonna, did you start working out?"

"Yes I did actually! My girlfriend's an MMA fighter so I kinda got into the whole gym thing," Blake replied smiling, "You look pretty nice yourself! Been keeping up with your sword play?"

"Not since college, unfortunately. Business as usual keeps me pretty occupied," Weiss replied, her heart sinking just a little.

"What are you doing here? Not that I don't enjoy the fact you're standing in front of me," Weiss asked.

"Well after we graduated I got offered a job to teach here, so yeah here I am," Blake replied, "Listen are you doing anything today?"

"I actually just arrived in town, I still need to look for a place to stay but besides that and the concert tonight, I think I'm free," Weiss said as she packed up the rest of her things.

"Cool! Why don't you stay with us?" Blake replied cheerily.

"With...with you and your girlfriend?" Weiss asked, a little surprised, "Is she gonna be alright with that?" 

"Of course she is! She's a great person I think you'd like her! Besides Weiss, no matter what transpired between us you're still my friend, even though you neglected to keep in contact with me for the past 3 years," Blake smiled and gave Weiss a hug, "Listen I have a class to teach in 20 minutes, I should be done around 2pm. Just give me a call around then and we can meet up. Sound good?"

"Very" Weiss replied with a smile.

"Good, catch you later, Weiss," blake waved goodbye and disappeared through the artist's' exit.

 _ **A/N: It's been a while and many things have transpired in my absence. I, for example, was in NYC two weeks ago to perform at Carnegie Hall, but besides that I've been doing a lot of thinking. I've gotten into a slump as many music students have and It's left my life rather empty. Without purpose, so I stopped listening to classical music, stopped practicing, and had no desire to resume that is until I performed at Carnegie. I found something in me that night, a feeling I wanted to chase, to experience again. It was a rather indescribable night and hope you experience such a night at least once in your life.**_

 _ **Yours as always,**_

 _ **K.A. Giovanni.**_


End file.
